Connecting with Buyers in Other Countries
A small business in the rural United States is no longer confined to their immediate area. For non-perishable sales, companies can easily connect with buyers all over the globe. You no longer have to be based in New York or Los Angeles to have a massive potential market. You can be anywhere, and your sales don’t even have to occur within the same country. Maybe there’s not a strong U.S. market for your products, but there is a strong market in Japan or England or Australia. You can find buyers all over the globe and make sales in any location. There are still logistics to consider — shipping costs, shipping companies, etc. — but this is vastly easier now than it was 50 years ago, and it’s all thanks to the internet.
So, say that you’re interested in starting to market in other areas. What are a few things you need to know?
You Should Provide Comprehensive Information to Buyers
Since making sales and returns over distance can be complicated, you should provide all relevant information to your potential buyers. Keep this in mind when creating the appropriate content. You should tell them how to contact your company, what you’re selling, what the full price is, how they can choose to pay, what it will cost for delivery, and what rights they have to cancel the purchase. Giving them enough information can make this whole process go much more smoothly.
You May Want to Consider Marketing in Multiple Languages
English may be the most common language spoken near your physical store location, but the dominant language can vary widely depending on where you’re trying to make sales. While some customers in these locations may also speak English, some may not. This could mean that marketing efforts are most successful in multiple languages. You may also want to consider this for on-site content. Even if your ads are convincing, customers are not likely to buy if they struggle to comprehend the site itself. Before going international, make sure you have the right team and the right content to do it.
Extra Payment Options May Help
It’s certainly helpful to give people as many payment options as you can. Don’t assume that credit cards, typically the most common way to pay in the United States, will be as prevalent everywhere. Some buyers may want to use debit cards, bank transfers or services like Apple Pay. You don’t want to run into any payment delays or lose sales because interested buyers simply aren’t able to send you the money. Be flexible, find out what people use most in your destination countries, and create an online shopping system that works for them.
Add SEO Based on Other Locations
When creating your content and doing SEO on your site, consider how to gain the greatest visibility in other countries. Maybe you want to use geographical locations. Maybe you want to refer to things that readers will recognize. Perhaps you want to look at the search trends in those countries, which could be vastly different than the search trends in the United States. All of this is important. Do not assume that your U.S. marketing will work elsewhere, even if it has been successful closer to home.
Remember That Terms Are Different
Even within English-speaking areas, the terms used are not always going to be the same. This is only accentuated when you break into areas that use other languages more often than English. You need content that actually speaks to those readers and doesn’t cause confusion. It can be simple. For instance, maybe you sell cookies in the United States. In the U.K., they call them biscuits. Using the term “biscuit” may feel wrong to you, as that’s a very different baked good in the U.S., but you need to have content that matches your audience’s expectations.
Focus on a Strong Brand
Branding is going to be one of your keys to success. A strong brand will be simple enough to work in multiple locations and unique enough to set you apart. You want your customers to recognize your defining marks no matter where they’re located. If you haven’t done much branding yet, consider how things like logos, slogans and color schemes can be created to work equally well all around the globe. If you do have a specific brand that doesn’t translate, consider how you need to address that as you expand. Should you really open another branch of your company with its own branding and content for its own target audience?
As You Grow
The internet makes massive business growth possible, but you can see that you still have a lot of details you need to consider. When you partner with us at Content Customs, we can help with everything from on-site content to SEO to social media marketing — and much more. Let us help you put your company in a position to grow in exactly the way you’ve always dreamed that it could. We’re here to help, and we hope to hear from you soon.